Media & Entertainment

Autodesk Maya 2011

Autodesk Maya 2011 3D modeling, animation, visual effects, rendering, and compositing software includes the following new and enhanced features:

• A revitalized user interface (UI) offers a more consistent, improved user experience across all supported Maya platforms.
• Skinning tools and workflows help you create better-skinned characters with more realistic deformations in less time.
• A nondestructive retargeting workflow that uses the Autodesk® HumanIK® 4.5 animation middleware libraries enables you to reuse, correct, and enhance motion-capture and other animation data faster and more easily.
• 3D editorial capabilities help accelerate previsualization and virtual movie-making production.
• Assets and file referencing enhancements enable you to more easily segment, reuse, and exchange data with or without file referencing.

View Autodesk Maya 2011 new feature demos.

Autodesk 3ds Max 2011

Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and compositing software includes the following new and enhanced features:

• Slate, a new node-based material editor, enables you to more easily visualize and edit material component relationships.
• Quicksilver hardware renderer enables you to create high-fidelity pre-visualizations, animatics, and games-related marketing materials in less time.
• Graphite modeling and Viewport Canvas tools help accelerate modeling and texturing tasks.
• The new 3ds Max Composite feature offers high-performance, HDR-capable compositing tools and is based on technology from Autodesk® Toxik® software.

View Autodesk 3ds Max 2011 new feature demos.

Autodesk Mudbox 2011

Autodesk Mudbox 2011 digital sculpting and texture painting software includes the following new and enhanced features:

• Deform and pose models quickly and easily to change their design, access occluded regions, present them for approval, or prepare them for map extraction.
• Selectively edit and manipulate existing paint and photo-based layers with new image adjustment brushes.
• Transfer models and scene information between Mudbox 2011 and Maya 2011 with a single click.
• Extract maps using a new Vector Displacement method and represent displacements that don’t follow the norm, such as  forms with appendages, undercuts, folds, and bulges.
• Import and export multiple layers in PSD files to leverage the Adobe® PhotoShop® toolset on more demanding projects.

Find out what's new with Autodesk Mudbox 2011.

Autodesk Softimage 2011

Autodesk® Softimage® 2011 3D modeling, animation, visual effects, rendering, and compositing software includes the following new and enhanced features:

• The Rendering Sandbox shader authoring environment automatically hosts external shaders and renderers without requiring custom UI or tools.
• Interactive Creative Environment (ICE) kinematics enable you to drive the movement and behaviors of characters and scene elements.
• Automatic Face Robot® Lip Synching functionality enables the instant generation of facial animation based on an audio file.
• A selection of up to 100 new ICE compounds enables you to create a wide range of effects.
• A selection of up to 100 new mental ray® shaders, including .mi and .mip production shaders, enables enhanced creativity.

View Autodesk Softimage 2011 new feature demos.

Autodesk MotionBuilder 2011

Autodesk MotionBuilder 2011 3D character animation software includes the following new and enhanced features:

• NVIDIA® PhysX® plug-in enables better creation of rigid body and rag-doll simulations.
• Improved animation layers match the behavior of those in Maya 2009 and higher, and offer better interoperability.
• Skinned characters play back faster by using the computing power of the GPU.
• Updated native Autodesk® FBX® 2011 format support helps eliminate extra translation steps.
• Expanded Mocap samples provide access to data for various human body types and motion to help bring characters to life.

Find out what's new with Autodesk MotionBuilder 2011.

Autodesk FBX 2011

Autodesk FBX technology is one of the most widely used and supported platform-independent 3D data interchange solutions in the film, games, television, and design visualization industries. FBX helps remove barriers to data compatibility and gives you the freedom to build more efficient pipelines.

Autodesk HumanIK 4.5 middleware includes the following new and enhanced features:

• Seamless, artist-friendly integration for Unreal Engine® 3 game engine
• New HumanIK characterization plug-in for Autodesk Maya 2011 helps make character configuration part of an integrated workflow
• Squash and stretch functionality for greater flexibility of animation environment and style

Autodesk® Kynapse® 7 middleware includes the following new and enhanced features, making it easier to use:

• Redesigned artificial intelligence data generation for speed and ease of use
• Simpler integration and configuration in your engine
• Prototyping and off-the-shelf behaviors
• Improved tuning and profiling